Michaïl Sjisjkin

(Moscow, 1961) is one of the most prominent names in contemporary Russian literature. He is the author of widely acclaimed novels Pismovnik (Letter Book. 2010), Maidenhair (2005), Taking of Izmail (2000) and Larionov´s Memoirs (1994). Shishkin is admired as a refined stylist whose fiction engages Russian and European literary traditions and forges an equally expansive vision for the future of literature. Born in Moscow in 1961, Shishkin has worked as a teacher and journalist. His novels have earned him the three most prestigious Russian literary awards: the Russian Booker Prize in 2000, the National Bestseller Prize in 2005, and the Bolshaya Kniga (Big Book) Prize in 2006 and 2011. His works have been translated into thirty languages. In "My Russia" (to be released on April 23, 2024), translated from German by Jan Sietsma, he insightfully exposes the roots of Russia's long-standing problems and its relationship with the West. He passionately speculates about 'his Russia', where the portion of the population that stands for democratic values takes the lead.